Left-handers will be happy with the new automatic-only Maverick V6 - the column shift is reversed, says Cathryn Espinosa

Did Ford's market research indicate that ensuring its new Maverick V6 appealed to left-handed drivers would increase sales? Maybe. Because the top model of this sports utility vehicle comes only with automatic transmission - and, uniquely in recent memory, the column shifter lives on the left side of the steering column.

This also means that the action is reversed compared to a conventional column shift: 1-2-D-N-R-P rather than P-R-N-D-2-1. It takes a moment to get used to - especially as the first time you drive the Maverick, you will inevitably grab the shifter rather than the indicator stalk while easing through your nearest major junction. Turning right will drop you into neutral, while turning left might see you find the second slot in the transmission quadrant.

Nothing else will provide such a surprise. This is a Ford/Mazda joint venture; the previous model was produced in partnership with Nissan. Left-hand-drive Mavericks come out of Ford's Kansas City plant, while right-hand-drive models are sourced from Mazda in Hofu, Japan.

You don't need a degree in forensic science to figure that the Maverick is Japanese-built. Interior fit and finish are exemplary. Surface textures and colours are semi-matt, impressively consistent from panel to panel. There's no chrome. In a Maverick with a black interior, your world view turns unrelentingly monotone. Even the leather seat facings favour that weirdly unnatural, almost airbrushed feel pioneered by Lexus and the odd plutocratic Nissan.

According to Ford, its design team "wanted to create a driving environment of functional simplicity without sacrificing style". They succeeded. The new Maverick is resolutely simple within: no cubby or stowage slot is lined, and the vast console box has but the flimsiest protection on its floor. Your stuff will fidget.

Front cupholders are simple dimples, with a plug-in, modular ashtray. The rears flip out of the centre console with some aplomb but, once deployed, don't line up parallel to the floor, which seems silly. This quirk makes them fine for taming cans and bottles, but loading a full cup tempts immediate spillage.

A glass-capped power sunroof has the largest opening area of any Ford SUV, impressive given that some models in the US are approximately the size of a British starter home. There's some clever detailing in the luggage bay, with stretchy nets on the side panel and slung across the widest part of the cargo area to stop shake, rattle and the other thing.

Best of all is a rear hatch with an openable rear window: buttons on the exterior latch thoughtfully marked "door" and "glass" make its operation a cinch.

The latest Maverick, then, is a genteel 4x4. Not, as some Americans deride small 4x4s, a sports futility vehicle, but definitely closer to a soft-roader than true off-roader. And usefully versatile daily transportation - especially if you are left-handed.